Isaiah 11
Verses 1-5 at first seem to tell of a just and godly human king, but then verses 6-9 is either hyperbole or it's pointing to something out of this world.
Verses 10-13 talk about the reunification of Israel & Judah and the return of the exiles, Then verse 14 talks about how this reunified Israel will take over Philistia Edom, Moab, and Ammon. And that YHWH will dry up the Red Sea and the Euphrates River so that they will no longer be a barrier and people to walk across, symbolic of the return of the exiles.
Some of these things seem be fulfilled by the Maccabees, for they did conquer Philistia and Edom, but Moab and Ammon had disappeared as a separate people by then and been absorbed into the Nabataean kingdom. Furthermore, the Maccabees were Levites, not descended from Jesse.
So, it makes more sense to interpret this as fulfilled in the Kingdom of God of Jesus, which wasn't a political conquest, but rather, a spiritual conquest.
Therefore, when we study yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecy, we should also be careful not to impose our too-often literal interpretations on them.
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